Siena Heights football closes season with victory

Sunday

Nov 4, 2012 at 10:15 AM

Saints beat Warriors 31-21 in finale

By Jay NicolsDaily Telegram Special Writer

After losing its last three games all against nationally-ranked opponents, the Siena Heights University football team ended the season on a good note with a 31-21 non-conference win Saturday over Waldorf College.

“This has been a resilient group,” said Siena Heights coach Jim Lyall. “Every week we come out — win, lose, or lose in overtime — the kids have prepared extremely well. I was very proud of the effort today. From a defensive standpoint, we contained a very talented quarterback, a young man who had over 1,000 yards of total offense in just three games. He’s explosive, but our kids did a great job, and our offense really played well today.”

The Saints (4-6) forced Waldorf (4-6) into a fourth-and-4 early in the game, but a fake punt kept the Warrior offense on the field. Following the fake punt, Siena’s Tracy Mayes picked off Waldorf quarterback Bryan Smith, but it was called back for holding. The Warriors finished off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Smith.

Saints quarterback Matt King had an efficient first half with 143 yards and two touchdowns on 13-for-21 passing with no turnovers. King hit Lyle VanFleteren for an 11-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7. The Saints started the game by running the ball four times to set up the pass as King hit Donovan Campbell for a 17-yard gain to set up the VanFleteren touchdown.

Siena Heights was driving the ball again later in the half, but fumbled on the 2-yard line. The Warriors turned it into seven points as they drove 98 yards. Smith hit Lashawn Chapman on a 44-yard tip pass to take a 14-7 lead.

“Our plan was to keep him (Smith) in the pocket and make him throw in the pocket, and we knew if we did that he’d throw some interceptions,” said Saints defensive coordinator Matt Kohn. “I’m very, very proud of our kids on defense. We’ve had some tough breaks go against us this year, and you would think these kids were undefeated the way they come to practice. These kids deserved to come out and play a great game today and they did.”

Siena Heights responded with a 52-yard drive capped off by a Campbell 17-yard touchdown reception from King. Campbell caught two passes on that drive, and but none bigger than a 24-yard gain on third-and-10 to extend the drive and take a 14-14 tie into half.

The Saints had a 36-yard field goal attempt blocked by Quamel Johnson early in the second half. But the Siena Heights defense came up with a turnover when Kyle Connors (Tecumseh) forced a Darin Neal fumble, and Jordan Martin recovered to give the Saints great field position.

“We came out with a lot of fire,” explained Saints offensive tackle Gauge Aebersold. “We really wanted to end on a positive note. So we really focused on our drop back, and it was hitting today. With our big pass game today, it really set up the runs at the end.”

King ran for 23 yards and made a nice pass to VanFleteren for a 27-yard gain to set up the Saints with a first-and-10 at the Waldorf 11-yard line. Calebb Goings ran it in for a 3-yard touchdown to put Siena Heights up 21-14.

Siena Heights ran the clock in the fourth quarter. The Saints rushed 16 times, scored a touchdown and a field goal to take a commanding 31-14 lead with under four minutes to play.

“In the beginning, we opened the run game with our passing,” said Goings. “We came out in the first half running a lot of play action. In the second half, our offensive coordinator came down and told our O-line were going to come out running the ball, and they opened a lot of big holes, which allowed me to do what I do.”

Going finished the game with 19 rushes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Drew Milligan (Hudson) ran for 67 yards on six carries. The Saints offense rushed for 219 yards on 43 attempts.

King finished the game 20-for-30 for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Campbell brought in 93 yards on seven receptions and a touchdown. VanFleteren finished with 60 yards and a touchdown, while Raphael Dunson hauled in five catches for 40 yards.

Defensively, the Saints were led by Derek Head, Sederick Dunbar, Trent Bragg, and Tyler Karcher. Head finished with 5 1/2 tackles, Dunbar and Karcher with five tackles, and Bragg with 4 1/2 tackles (2 1/2 for loss). Mayes broke up two passes, while Fed Butler and Connors each forced a fumble.

“We came out and had a lot of intensity,” said Karcher. “We knew we had to come to play today. We wanted to go out with a bang today."

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